Uncertainty clears as alliance maps future course for Cathay

Cathay Pacific Airways' pledge of allegiance to the oneworld alliance announced yesterday ends more than a year of speculation about its future direction in an increasingly competitive industry.

It might explain why the Hong Kong flag carrier's shares jumped 30 cents, or 4.6 per cent yesterday, to $6.75 on a day when the Hang Seng Index took a 3.7 per cent tumble.

Antony Tyler, Cathay Pacific's director of corporate development, yesterday said: 'There are things happening in the market that make alliances necessary.

'There is no room for airlines with no particular friends any more,' he said.

He said the market was pushing the industry into large alliances.

'There are the frequent-flyer programmes, the seamless service issues and the flight code-sharing arrangements' which have made alliances virtually a necessity, Mr Tyler said.

'A salesman with an alliance could go to a global business and have the scope to capture all of their corporate travel,' Mr Tyler said.